Evaluation of published bioconcentration factor (BCF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF) data for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances across aquatic species

By Lawrence P. Burkhard
Environ Toxicol Chem
February 23, 2021
DOI: 10.1002/etc.5010

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals of concern across the globe, and some of the PFAS chemicals are known to be bioaccumulative in aquatic species. A literature search for bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) for PFASs has been done and data for 22 taxonomic classes were assembled. The assembled data were evaluated for quality, and for gaps and limitations in bioaccumulation information for PFAS universe of chemicals. In general, carbonyl and sulfonyl PFAS classes are relatively data rich while phosphate, fluorotelomer and ether PFAS classes are data limited for fish and nonexistent for most other taxonomic classes. Taxonomic classes with the most measurements were, in descending order, Teleostei (fish), Bivalvia, and Malacostraca. For fish, median whole body log BAFs (L/kg-ww) for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were 3.47 (sd=0.78, n=105) and 2.16 (sd=0.85, n=48) using all measurements, respectively. In comparison to freshwater species, data are limited for marine species and further research is needed to determine if BAFs for freshwater and marine species should be the same or different. BAFs for some PFASs appear consistent with BCFs developed with laboratory experiments, in which values decline with increasing concentrations in water.

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